On the 9^th of June 2024 The French President, Emmanuel Macron, made a surprise announcement that he would be dissolving the French Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) and calling for a ‘snap-election’ after just two years of what was expected to be a traditional five year session. Whilst many have speculated about the reasons behind the unprecedented decision the most commonly held opinion is that this in response to the simultaneous European Union Elections, which had just concluded in France, which saw a string of victories won by ideologically far-right parties. Yet it has come as some surprise to majority of British people that Europe is having a continent wide-election in the first place.

In many respects this isn’t surprising – Britain hasn’t given much thought to the political machinations of the European Union since we left in 2019 and we’ve also been immersed in our own uniquely British political chaos. But even though we are no longer a part of the EU, and thus do not have a direct role in its Parliamentary elections, it would be foolish for us to become completely disinterested in the affairs of the continent as its elections effect Britain as much as if we where still a part of it.

However, it is just worth clarifying what the geographically largest election in world actually serves. Across the EU its 27 full member states host elections in which their assigned MEP’s (Members of the European Parliament) are decided, at their own pace and often in their own manner of election. Ireland for instance is split into three separate constituencies whereas Germany appoints candidates based on their national vote share through a system of regional party lists.

Regardless of the finer details the most important thing to remember is that the elected MEPs do not represent their constituent states, but the political parties they subscribe to. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission and one of the most recognisable faces of the EU, is part of the European Peoples’ Party (EPP) whose membership includes MEPs from as far afield as Poland, Italy and Spain.

This is perhaps why Emmanuel Macron has called this snap election, as his country has just concluded its European Parliamentary elections, in which the National Rally under Marie Le Pen made significant gains. This is on the back of a much broader surge in far right parties winning MEPs in Portugal, Finland and the Netherlands under the Identity Democracy Party and European Conservative and Reformists Parties.

Yet despite the sensationalism surrounding this election the essential question remains, why should Britain care? Well, despite our non-participation, the upcoming session of the European Parliament may well be the most consequential in history. With BREXIT and the Syrian refugee Crisis finally out of the way the EU and its members are finally looking towards strengthening its institution, especially in the light of recent events. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Presidency of Donald Trump have provided a sharp wakeup call for Europe’s democracies as both events have fundamentally turned the world on its head.

For decades Europe has coasted on a post-cold war peace dividend where it has freely neglected its investment in defence, confident in the delusion that Russia could never threaten Europe and America would never abandon it – well, now that’s all changed. Emmanuel Macron and other major European political figures have begun to call for a Common European Defence Policy, and even a European Army to guard against Russian expansionism and any other threats that may emerged. There is also a much broader debate on the role of the EU and its member states’ finances, with Britain – arguably its most awkward member – having left, the opportunity for the EU to directly fund the re-establishment of its member states defence industries is now on the table.

Of course, there are major legislative and political hurdles that the EU must overcome to achieve any of this, but its political leaders at all levels have made it clear that they intend to tackle them in the next session – and it’s an effort Britain should watch with encouragement. Naturally there are still some Eurosceptics in Britain who show concern at the direction the EU is taking but, aside from the fact its no longer our decision to make, it’s within Britain’s interest to see the EU succeed in establishing a common defence policy.

As far back as 1948 Britain was committed to this vision as far back as 1948. “We cannot aim at anything less that the union of Europe as a whole,” said Winston Churchill, “and we look forward with confidence to the day when that union will be achieved”. Granted he said this with the idea that the West would be constituted by a United States on one side, the United States of Europe on the other and the British Empire in the middle, but that strategic vision hasn’t essentially changed.

One of biggest problems the United States has encountered in its foreign policy – and what the proponents of a European Army will soon discover– is that Europe is a self-contained theatre of operations. This means that the majority of European countries think of foreign policy only in a regional context rather than an international one. Norway, Ireland and Spain have just recently announced their diplomatic recognition of Palestine, but they aren’t about to try and project their influence in the Eastern Mediterranean to try and enforce it.

Even when the European Union tries to assert itself as an international actor by providing digital infrastructure and green energy investments in places like Morocco and Kenya, it gets bogged down in endless debate about fiscal responsibility and legislative oversight. This isn’t so much a problem of policy but of public perception and the fact is the majority of Europeans don’t have an international mind-set, seeing any effort spent on expanding the EU’s influence abroad as a waste of resource that could otherwise be spent in Europe itself. Not even those member states that could assert themselves internationally seem to be bothered.

France is too preoccupied preserving its shadow colonial empire, which has recently come to light with the unrest in its pacific territory of New Caledonia; Spain never seems to miss an opportunity to beat immigrants off its 20ft high border fence in Ceuta and Melilla. Germany is so ashamed of its militaristic past that it lets the Bundeswehr’s (Germany’s Armed Forces) fall into a cycle of incompetence and Poland shamelessly admits to only accepting ethnically white refugees.

It’s interesting to note that Britain stands as the outlier to its European partners, for while its often criticised as having a hang-over attitude from the days of empire, no other power in Europe has such a unique combination of a politically international worldview and compassionate commitment to democratic values. In the words of Antony Eden, “Britain is a global power, which requires global interest”. The only reason why no-one takes Britain’s commitment to the international order seriously is because we’re so poverty-stricken and politically divided that we don’t have the means to enforce it, economically or militarily, but that is a situation which can be remedied. Europe’s isolationism, however, cannot.

As we look across the Channel, the results of the European Parliamentary elections will point to what the EU can hope to achieve in the coming years and – as we enter the twilight of nearly a century of peace – the European Union may well have to confront the ultimate test of its survival. The election of far-right Eurosceptic parties will make achieving the EU’s ambition of a Common European Defence Policy and further political integration difficult, but not impossible.

To survive, the EU will have to strike a careful balance between the rights of its member states and what is required of it to remain a globally competitive institution across the rest of the 21^st century. If it achieves this then – with support from Great Britain – Europe could well stand as the shield that defends us all.

William Kelly is a student of Politics and International Relations at Liverpool Hope University